M3P:Inaugural Conference

The theme for this conference was Ensuring Longevity On Collaborative Online Memory Projects.

This event gave community members a chance to get together and explore various aspects around the M3P, as well as an opportunity for anyone interested in getting involved to attended workshops and seminars to find out more about the project.

Proceedings included parallel sessions in the Cinema on the top floor and the Studio next door to the Music Room on the ground floor.

Overview

Dr Toni Sant opened the conference on Friday afternoon with an introduction about the project and the work undertaken since the launch in September 2010. This was followed by an open seminar on Intellectual Property Rights led by Dr Jeanine Rizzo, a lawyer with Fenech & Fenech Advocates who also acts as the M3P Foundation's legal consultant on all matters related to IPR.

The following day, the proceedings were opened by M3P Foundation Director Michael Bugeja, who followed on with observations from the communities of practice that have formed around the project and issues that need to be addressed to ensure longevity on this particular memory project. Mr Jez Collins from the UK then gave a detailed presentation about the Birmingham Popular Music Archive, which has since become a strategic ally of the M3P Foundation in seeking to preserve cultural memories of a specific geographic community. A Technical Roundtable with M3P Foundation members Darren Stephens (from the University of Hull - UK) and Dr Ing Saviour Zammit (from the University of Malta) yielded an interesting discussion with all present and helped the M3P Foundation in formulating a technical strategy for the foreseeable future.

Throughout the two days, various members of the public attended workshops with Anthony Micallef-Grimaud about the M3P in general and specifically on on how to contribute to the collaborative multimedia database. The participants included musicians and singers of all ages, interested in a variety of genres, as well as several people associated with the broader cultural scene.

Evening events

All the event were video recorded with a 3-camera set-up. These videos will be available for public viewing soon.

Galea Family Oral History at the National Archives in Rabat

On Friday 3 June at 7pm, the National Archives hosted a musical/oral history with the Galea Family, at its main premises in Rabat. Composer/pianist Sammy Galea, singer and vocal coach Doreen Galea, were accompanied by their sons Dominic (composer/pianist) and Benedict (percussionist), as well as niece Leontine Spiteri (nee' Camilleri), who is also a singer. The family were interviewed at length by Toni Sant between performances of the most significant songs and compositions they have written and performed throughout their careers.

You Rarely Hear This On The Radio 2 at V-Gen

Continuing to build on the idea of exposing different types of live Maltese music to types of audiences that do not normally have easy access to them, lead to the second of M3P's events under the banner You Rarely Hear This On The Radio. Over the past decade there has been a steady rise Maltese language songs in the alternative local music scene. One of the new venues for this particular type of music opened its doors in May 2011 and it was deem appropriate to capture the spirit of this place with a crop of some of the better acts in this vein. The musical genres this time were quite diverse, ranging from punk rock to alternative cabaret. Due to the explicit nature of the language used by all three acts, their songs are never played on the radio. However, similar lyrics in English or Italian are not unfamiliar to radio listeners on several Maltese radio stations. The acts were selected by a panel of M3P members, which included Michael Bugeja, Tony Grimaud and Toni Sant.

Pupi tal-Logħob have been active for more than 10 years; they formed under a different line-up in 2000. They are among the more popular performers in their genre to sing in Maltese. Remarkably they also do Maltese-language cover versions of songs by other Maltese punk bands such as R.A.S. and Xtruppaw.

Duo Kukkanja is a fluid group of musicians that appear on stage two at a time. Justin Galea accompanied Claire Tonna for the first part of their set, playing half-forgotten Maltese-language songs from the 1980s. Steve "id-Delli" Delia later join Justin Galea to perform a number of Maltese pop songs, along with a couple of originals written in recent years.

Ċikku l-Poplu is the cabaret guise of respected classical composer Alex Vella Gregory. His original satirical songs are a prime example of 21st century Maltese popular songwriting. He has managed to attract the following of several loyal admirers, many of whom are largely unfamiliar with his instrumental and choral works.

Marc Galea CD Album Launch at St James Cavalier

To ensure that the M3P reaches Malta's some of Malta's jazz aficionados, the launch for Marc Galea's CD album Easy Dialogue was presented at the St. James Cavalier as a live music event at the end of the second day of the M3P Conference. The highlight of the show was the first ever live jazz rendition of the popular song L-Aħħar Bidwi f'Wied il-Għasel with the tune's composer Paul Abela playing piano and keyboards during this concert.

South Central at Gianpula

The M3P Foundation administrative board felt that the most appropriate way to end the project covered by the Malta Arts Fund was to listen to a live electronica set at Gianpula by South Central, the Maltese artists based in Brighton (UK) are familiar names on the international scene for this genre of music.